NORWALK, CT – Although nearly half of all Americans are ready to toss the paper and believe electronic health records will enable more efficient healthcare, they are largely in the dark about what it actually means for them as a patient, says a new survey.

The online survey, conducted for Norwalk, Conn.-based Xerox Corporation by Harris Interactive, polled 2,180 adults between Feb. 17-19, 2010.

Only 16 percent of U.S. adults who have a healthcare provider/institution have been approached by their healthcare provider/institution to discuss converting to digital records, according to a release about the survey.

Because patients are not well informed about EHRs, they have little knowledge on how the switch can benefit them, the survey found.

Respondents ranked patients as last among groups that will benefit from digital records, reporting they have the least to gain (26 percent).